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| Extremely wasted, beautiful people at L.A. Beer Fest |
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| My favorite people at L.A. Beer Fest |
A couple of weekends ago, in the midst of moving insanity, I took
a much needed respite. Waking up early on a Saturday is never my cup of tea but
this Saturday it was quite necessary as I needed to unpack copious amounts of
boxes before I headed out for the rest of the evening at 4:00. My motivation all day, was
knowing that I was going to spend some much overdue quality time with two of my
dearest friends. We were lucky enough to meet back in college and now NINE years later I am even more lucky to have a family-like bond with them.
This excitement totally eclipsed what was in store for me - I was utterly clueless. Giving
very little thought to where we were going or what we were doing, the quality
time was my absolute focus. After years of nearly attending
the L.A. Beer Fest, this year was my year to finally really attend, holding zero
expectations. I feverishly worked on unpacking all day up to the very last minute of the 2:00 hour, quickly rinsed, threw on whatever I could find, called a cab and
sprinted out the door. I ended up in the cab of the friendliest and most chatty
cab driver in L.A. which was fine
with me. "Paramount Studios" I said to him, he inquired, “what is
happening today? My screen all lit up with cab orders” in a curious
almost annoyed tone. “Ah, yes, I'm headed to a beer festival” I said in the
least confident of tones, totally unaware of what was to come. About half way
on my two mile journey we spot a threesome of wild youngsters as they tried to
wave down my cab, one with a full thick head of dreadlocks, a goateed hipster
and a tall lean beautiful young lady who seemed to belong in a 1993 Aerosmith
video. The cab driver rolled down the window and yelled "all full but where are
you going?" “LA Beer Fest” they yelled with extreme enthusiasm and smiles.
I quickly acknowledged that I was quite the loaner in the cab and we happened
to have three open seats; in the motley crew piled. As we drove on our way
I felt just a smidgen that much more cool yet reminded of younger years when I
got that excited about an afternoon of
drinking. After an extremely
entertaining one mile jaunt down Melrose Avenue, we arrived, my new found posse
and I scurried quickly towards the entrance.
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| Hoards of People on the New York Lot at Paramount Studios |
After reading a quick blurb about LA Beer Fest on Yelp, the one
tidbit of vital information was to arrive early and take all measures to try to avoid the long lines. Well, this
year, they doubled up on all check in personnel, so, what line? I quickly
gained access into the vast New York
lot at Paramount Studios which was lined with bumper to bumper food trucks and breweries
in tents…this I could get use to. I found my dear friends and without missing a
beat were savoring stouts in seconds.
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| DJ Spinning |
The L.A. Beer Fest turned out being one of my ultimate favorite L.A. experiences yet. The
setting was perfect, just like walking through the street set of Seinfeld, with hoards of every type of person you could imagine. Preppy to tacky
frat boys, beachy to modelesque you ladies, lots of tattoos, middle aged folks
who look like they just got off the bus from Missouri to Kim Cattrall look-a-like goddesses
dressed to nines. A true myriad of people with a shared common denominator: beer.
Being a girlfriend of a home brewer, I really had all intentions
of taking my beer tastings extremely seriously. I also stumbled upon some very passionate
commentary online from past attendees. Rants about the atrocity of drunken
festival goers who taste in gluttony after breweries work so hard to represent
and share their masterpieces. God forbid someone says "after a couple they all taste the same" ... I
hate to break it to you, I'll be honest, I really resisted this, I did, but an
hour in, one really can not discern between the sky and the ground let alone the difference between a cider and an IPA, and I am no amateur when it comes to drinking.
It was exactly one hour in, and the crowd dramatically changed like a rising
tide of debauchery. Lines no longer existed, people began dancing in the
streets to the various DJs and live bands - it was a hell of a lot of fun.
$45, well
worth it dollars, 81 breweries, beautiful people, food trucks, all
you can drink beer for three hours in the L.A. sun and countless of L.A.s finest
food trucks: an absolute must try for anyone who is over 21 and enjoys a
good time.
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| Crazy Beer Fest Goer |
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| Genius Pretzel Necklace |
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